Trials in Life
by man in the shadows of bla
Summary: Harry is torn up from what happened at the department of Mysteries. He hasn’t spoken to anyone since he was left at Privot Dr. It will include dark themes but not dark Harryset in Harry's sixth year Au from half blood prince
1. Crimson Tears

A/N ok hi to all. Just to start this out I must do a few things first.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (no if I did Harry Potter wouldn't be a kids story) It belongs to JK Rowling. She is a great author and I hope she doesn't sue.

Warnings some sexual descriptions (not sure how vivid), violence, death and murderer, and angst

Pairings Harry/Tonks I haven't decided on the others

Summary: Harry is torn up from what happened at the department of Mysteries. He hasn't spoken to anyone since he was left at Privot Dr.

It will include dark themes but not dark Harry.

-----------------------------------------

Chapter 1

Crimson Tears

----------------------------------------------

Drip…Drip…Drip…

The day started with a bleak feel to it and slowly got worse. An aberrant chill swept throughout Surrey by a persuasive wind. Combined with the soaring amount of humidity brought by the exceptionally low cloud formations and it wasn't hard to see why the residents chose to stay inside this summer. The streets were desolate to all but an invisible watch. Her unseen arms wrapped around her chest for warmth, despite the myriad of warming and drying charms she applied. It wasn't enough to keep her warm.

It was hard enough to maneuver around under an invisibility cloak without the wind trying to unearth her. She had to position herself up against a tree to keep for being seen when the wind would remove the cloak from her feet. Today was shaping up to be the worse day since the Department of Mysteries ignominy.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

A gust of wind, threatening to remove her cloak, forced her to sit on the damp grass. She brought her knees up to her chest and cast another drying and warming charm. She could immediately feel their effects start to fade away. Whatever energy was effecting the weather had to be some sort of enchantment. It was the only reason her charms wouldn't work properly.

"How could they do this to me?"

Tonks was still incensed from the Order meeting last night. It wasn't that she didn't want to guard Harry; she just thought she had the right to know why.

The old fool thought differently. He didn't think that anyone should know why. How was he expected to command the army for the light if he started to cast uncertainty in his cohorts.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

She could feel tears start to form under her eyes. Why did Harry have to go to the Department of Mysteries? What was he looking for? Sirius had died that night; and while it wasn't Harry that cast the curse. He did lead Sirius to his death.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

Her vision blurred. She couldn't look straight anymore, as the tears that threatened to fall started to. She started to curse herself again. Harry was a targeted man and no one wanted to tell her why. Dumbledore knew, she could tell, but he would let anyone know why. She wondered briefly if Harry even knew why.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

"What the fuck is that dripping!"?

Drip…Drip…Drip…

She was checking around the garden. It wasn't raining outside and there wasn't source of water. A deafening scream echoed from the smallest bedroom of number four-Privot drive.

Her secrecy forgotten with the dropped invisibility cloak, Tonks was running for the front door.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

The sound increased when she opened the door. It was coming from within the house. She raced up the stairs to find Petunia Dursley standing in the doorway of the smallest bedroom horrorstruck.. Vernon was pounding he way up the stairs behind her. She motioned towards the doorway. Petunia seemed oblivious to her.

"What are you doing in my house freak."

Vernon barely got to finish that sentence before he was hit with a stunning curse. Tonks glanced into the smallest bedroom. She could feel the blood drain from her face.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drip…Drip…Drip…

The occupant of the smallest bedroom in number four-Privot drive hadn't left his room since he had been imprisoned there. Memories in his overburdened past filled his thoughts. It was odd to think about. His life seemed less and less real and more like a work of fiction. But even then who would write a kids life this horrible.

He missed Sirius more now than when he had first died. His sleep was haunted with twisted versions of Sirius' death, his parent's death, Cedric's death, and all of his friends' death. When he was awake he could still see Sirius die in front of him. But to make it harder to bare he had the weight of the prophecy on his shoulders.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

Harry could feel the tears start to form when he thought of the words that would stay etched in his head till the day of his death.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches… Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… And the dark lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have powers the dark lord knows not… and either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live will the other survives… The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"_

Drip…Drip…Drip…

Harry could feel the stinging sensation that told him he was crying. He hadn't received one letter during the two weeks he had been here, though he wouldn't have noticed if he had. His trunk was still packed up from school. He hadn't even bothered changing his clothes.

He was even vaguely aware of his aunt bringing him food and water in his room. He barely ate anything at all. She eventually stopped bringing him as much. He didn't care what happened if he didn't eat.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

It was all too much for him. All the pain and anguish, the Prophecy, Dumbledore's lies. It was all too much for him to take. How was he suppose to defeat Voldemort. He had a good fourty years on him to study magic.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

Harry needed a way out. He needed this to just all end. He couldn't sleep anymore because of his dreams. He couldn't stay awake anymore because of his thoughts. He just needed a way out. He would get that way out soon. For now he just needed to write letters to everyone. The needed to understand why he chose to do this.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

Harry pulled out his charms book grade four. He remembered seeing the spell in there during that year but couldn't remember what the incantation was. He flipped through page after page before he found a spell that would have to do. It wasn't the slicing charm, but it would have to do.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

He aimed his wand at his wrist and spoke the incantation.

"Bombardar."

He could feel his flesh being blown from his left wrist. It didn't have the precision of the slicing charm. Instead of the diminutive cut running up his arm, there was a deep gash about two centimeters wide from his elbow to his palm.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

With an intricate struggle, Harry managed to position his wand over his right arm. He spoke the incantation again; blasting an opening into his right forearm. He could feel his head start to throb from the lose of blood. His arms, having lost feeling shortly after the gashes were placed on them, hung at his sides.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

His vision became blurred as the amount of blood lost became apparent. Harry could feel his head start to swim.

Drip…Drip…Drip…

His aunt's screams were the last thing he heard before darkness surmounted him.

-------------------------------------------

Tonks pushed past petunia and into Harry's bedroom. The room was a mess. Harry's blood had covered his bed and floor beneath him. He was flaccid up against the bed, cataleptic.

She grabbed Harry and moved him to the middle of the floor. His crimson tears discolored her robes. She pointed her wand at his wounds and healed them. Another quick spell told her that he had a pulse albeit weak. He had lost a lot of blood and was suffering from anemia.

She gathered his lifeless body in his arms. He was still quit heavy despite his lack of body mass. She focused on her pad and side along apparated

Harry there.

Tonks appeared in the middle of her bedroom. She placed Harry on her bed and summoned some blood replenishing potion from her cupboards. Opening his mouth with her left hand she pored the potion into it. Using her wand she forced him to swallow it.

She apparated back at number four and grabbed his trunk. It was already packed minus a few things on the desk. She summoned her invisibility cloak from the garden and placed it in his trunk. Shrinking the trunk she placed it into her pocket and apparated to the Orders Headquarters. Albus was there and she needed to talk to him.

"Ms. Tonks, why are you here, what has happened."

She could feel the slight prickling at her oclumency defenses. Deciding it would be easier to just let him see what happened then tell him she lowered her shields.

She could feel him recoil after seeing Harry in the condition that she found him earlier.

"Ms. Tonks I know that you want some answers but right now I need you to go and watch over Harry at your place. It is not safe for him anymore and he can't defend himself."

Tonks looked at him. She could see the look of pleading that he had in his eye. She didn't say anything.

"I will be over at your place in a little while. I will bring a healer with me."

Tonks just nodded her response before she apparated back to her place.

Harry was going to need more than her protection if he was to survive the night.


	2. The Cry of the Black Phoenix

A/N Alright to let you know I am not going to write too many of these notes. I will try to update this story as often as possible. Also as much as I liked the poetic form of the first chapter I won't be using it too often. Also for those of you who think that Tonks' actions are a bit OC well I don't think that they are. She hasn't been informed on why Harry is so important to protect. The rest of the order hasn't as well. (With the exception of those that already knew) She was hurt in the department of mysteries because Harry was stupid enough to go in and fight. She was fighting Bellatrix and I think she knows that she could have died that night. I don't know about you but I would be really pissed if I went into a battle got wounded and still wasn't informed about what was going on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters that are mentioned in the books. If there are new characters then they are mine.

Warnings:

Rated m for mature themes (sex violence other stuff like that)

Spoilers Books 1-5

Pairings Harry/Tonks

This chapter contains graphic violence. If you do not like it. then don't read it.

So without further ado onwards towards the reason you are reading this. The story

-------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 2

THE CRY OF THE BLACK PHOENIX

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonks had arrived back at her place a few hours ago. She looked at the-boy-who-just-didn't-know-how-to-die and sighed. Even though she had stopped him from killing himself, she couldn't help but chuckle at the small satire, he always seemed to escape the dance of mortality.

"Stupid git can't believe that he was stupid enough to try and kill himself. He is the bloody boy who lived after all. Don't know how I ever crushed over a guy like that, must have been the fame."

She stared at his meager resting form. He seemed so at peace like this. Why was he being so stupid beseeching Sirius' death? She could feel the pressure behind her eyes as the tears flowed down her face. Her cousin had died to save Harry and he didn't seem to care.

She nearly jumped out of her seat when a hand touched her shoulder. She hand her wand drawn and pointing at the headmaster Dumbledore. She relaxed upon seeing his face. He had appeared so silently that she didn't even notice him enter her place.

"Sorry to alarm you Ms. Tonks. But we have a lot to talk about."

She glanced at Harry again, to distract her as long as possible from Dumbledore, and saw a healer examining him.

"I gave him some blood replenishing potion after I got him here. I healed the wounds as best as I could." She had no emotion in her voice when she said this.

The healer didn't even speak to her. He was so busy running test on Harry that she wasn't even sure he heard her.

She could feel Dumbledore gaze upon her. She didn't want to talk about what he was here for. She had no choice though. It was the only way that she would get any answers out of him. She returned his gaze.

For a few minutes no one spoke. Both seemed to be calculating what the other wanted from them. Tonks growing weary of the silence finally spoke.

"Well."

She knew that he wasn't there to place blame on her. How could he? She was following his orders to stay away from Harry at all costs. It was no wonder that Harry actually tried to kill himself. He was cut off from the world that he belonged to.

Dumbledore stared at her a bit more before he replied.

"Ms. Tonks I will be setting up wards here. Harry will be staying here under your care. I admit that it won't be as strong as the blood wards at his aunt's house but I think that we won't need to worry so much because we have the element of surprise. You are not to mention this to anyone."

"Now hold on a second Dumbledore. This is my place and I decide who stays here. I might be in your order, but you do not dictate my life."

"Of course not I only meant that…"

"I know what it is that you meant. And I will keep Harry here on a few conditions. One I get to know why this kid is a target to the dark lord, two you stop trying to dictate my life. And three you leave my personal life out of the order."(1)

"Ms. Tonks I know that you want to know why Harry is a target I can only tell you half of it. The other half is not mine to tell, rather Harry's. I can comply with the other two requests to the best of my abilities but I will need your cooperation with the order."

Tonks snorted as she had been seen doing more and more. She knew that Dumbledore would bring that up. Leave it to him to be as sneaky as He-who-must-not-be-named himself.

"Now, Harry is a target for two reasons as I have said. The first is because of he survived that killing curse and was the cause of his first downfall. The second, like I said before, is up to Harry to let you know."

Tonks huffed in frustration, she knew this already but he wouldn't tell her why Harry had snuck into the Hall of Prophecies. She knew that he would be on top of the dark lords list but no one told her why he was on the dark lords list to begin with. Why was he seeking the potters?

The Healer that had looked over Harry had disapparated causing her to look up from her thoughts. Dumbledore had been sitting quietly in a chair.

A moment later the Healer was back with a few potions. He pointed his wand at Harry and poured them down his throat. He whispered a small incantation that she didn't hear. Harry blazed a silver, blue color and began to cough. She could see him start to wake. His eyes showed his weary state.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry could he a soft mummer around him. He started to open his eyes. His eyes watered at the intense stinging sensation. The world around him was out of focus. He could make out shapes of people around him, three to be exact. The room was an unrecognized blur.

The pain faded as his eyes adjusted to being open. He didn't know how long he was out or even what had happened. He felt exhaustion take over him as he tried to move. The healers hand forced him back down.

Harry didn't object he was excessively tired and found it to arduous to move. He struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Who are you?" Harry's voice was harsh and raspy.

He tried to move his hand towards where he kept his wand. His wrists screamed out in agony. His memories flooded back to him. He had blown the flesh off of his forearms. He tried to kill himself. That meant that Tonks was here and if she was here than Dumbledore was here as well. Why couldn't he just die like normal people?

"Harry…" His suspicions were confirmed "…It is I Albus Dumbledore. Nymphadora Tonks is here as well as a Healer."

Harry could see a small figure standing in front of the door tense when Dumbledore mention the name Nymphadora. But she remained silent.

"Where are my glasses?"

"Harry, please…"

Dumbledore was interrupted by Tonks.

"You are going to need a new pair. You broke them earlier today when you decided to kill yourself."

Harry could hear the anger in her voice. He wasn't expecting this so he went quiet. He could see the Healer send her a look.

The mood in the room was tense. Harry could feel his mouth being opened by the Healer's wand next to him. The familiar taste of a strengthening potion and a dreamless sleep potion flowed down his throat. Harry could feel sleep taking him again. The soft voices in the room slowly dulled as the lights faded to black.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonks stared at the medi-wizard that glared at her. She understood that he was upset with her but she didn't care. She was mad at Harry at the moment.

"Tonks I am going to set up the wards and then I am going to get back to some important business. I will expect to hear from you if something happens."

She could feel her temper flare but shook it off. When she thought about it she didn't know why she was mad in the first place. She nodded to Dumbledore in response.

After a few hours Dumbledore cautioned Tonks to not let Harry leave her house. Annoyance licked her insides with this statement, but she didn't let it show. She kept an expression of deep thought and exhaustion on her face.

She was good enough at Occlumency that she could express whatever emotion she wanted on her face. It was a helpful skill to learn as it helped her with her metamorph abilities.

When she looked back up Dumbledore was gone without a sound. He was down right creepy when he wanted to be. She could feel exhaustion taking over her.

"I am going to leave some potions for Harry to take over the next few days. I will also leave enough vials of dreamless sleep potion to last him through the holiday. If there are anymore complications feel free to alert me at the hospital."

And with that the Healer was gone with a pop of displaced air.

Tonks summoned a blanket and a pillow from her wardrobe and went to the couch in the living room. She transfigured it into a comfortable bed and fell asleep.

-------------------------------------------------------

Harry awoke the next morning feeling refreshed and famished. He hadn't been eating much this summer due to his decreased apatite.

Harry reached towards his nightstand to grab his glasses out of habit.

"_Odd my nightstand is usually right here._" Harry opened his eyes to a blurry room that he didn't recognize. The bed that he was in was bigger and he was surrounded in silk sheets that faintly had the aroma of roses, sugar cookies, and something he couldn't place. Almost a sweet sent but still musty and salty at the same time.

Harry sat up in the bed and looked around the room. His eyes caught the sight of his bare arms. The scars that he could see on the blurred flesh reminded him that he tried to kill himself, and the feeling of being refreshed drained out of him. He had tried to kill himself because he couldn't take it anymore, the prophecy, his fame, the ministry, Dumbledore, his relatives, and losing Sirius.

Tears trickled from his eyes when he thought of losing his godfather. His only real family was gone. Why did they save his life? He didn't want to live anymore. His life now had to include in someway murder. Be it his own or the ones destine to fall at his hands. It was all too much for him. He broke down and sobbed into his knees.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Tonks bolted up in her sleep. She could here noises in her place and couldn't quite place them. She looked around trying to locate the noise. She couldn't remember why she was in the living room.

The noise was coming from her bedroom. She grabbed her wand and cast a silencing charm on herself. She crept out of bed and walked against the wall towards her bedroom careful not to trip over anything in her path. When the bookshelf threatened to be a nuisance she levitated it out of her way. She reached the door to her room without incident. She peered into the thresh hold, wand pointing in front of her, to find Harry Potter sitting on her bed crying.

"_Oh Shit what did I do last night. Please tell me that I didn't do anything that I will regret." _She walked across the room and sat behind him. He didn't even seem to notice her. She wrapped her arms around him and apologized. All thoughts of a threat in her house fleeting.

He immediately latched onto her and began sobbing into her shoulder. She caught a glimpse of the flesh on his arms. The fog on her senses seemed to be lifted and she remembered that he had tried to kill himself last night. She could feel him tense in her arms. He knew what she was thinking. He knew that she remember what had happened.

Harry slowly shed himself from her arms. She could feel anger rise up inside of her again.

She could see Harry flinch when she spoke.

"You stupid Git. Why did you do that?"

Harry recoiled. He didn't answer her. She wanted a response out of him.

"Why Harry, Why did you do that."

Her voice had calmed down but the disappointment was evident. Harry remained silent.

"Did it make you feel like a man Harry? Knowing that you could end you own life. Did you hate Sirius that much?"

"No." Harry's voice was weak. She could feel her temper start to rise.

"Then why Harry?"

Harry looked down at his hands. Tonks was quickly annoyed at his sudden inability to speak. She pulled her wand out and pointed it towards Harry.

"Did you want to die Harry? Was that it?" He didn't answer her. She threw a slicing curse at his face. It grazed his cheek. He was bleeding again.

"If you want to die I won't stop you Harry." She handed him his wand back.

Harry looked at his wand for a moment.

She threw another slicing curse at him and it slipped across his torso. His shirt crumpled around his waist. He had a small slice down the front of his chest. She could see the tears that fell freely from his eyes. She didn't care. He needed to understand what he had tried to do.

"Do you want me to help you Harry…" She cast another slicing curse across the front of his arm. It was deep enough to slice the main artery in his wrist. "…Are you going to answer me?" She cast another slicing curse at his other arm. He didn't even bother moving. The curse cut the same path on his right arm that the first did on his left. Harry just sat there. He was looking at the cuts that were on his arms. Tears were falling onto his arms.

Tonks could feel her anger surge through her.

"Are you going to answer me? Look at me."

Her screams caught his attention. He looked up into her eyes. She could see the look on his face. His teary eyes gave her a window into his shattered soul. He looked as if he were lost, as if he were half of who he once was the last time she saw him.

She immediately enveloped him in a hug. Her anger long forgotten with the look of despair he had in his eyes. She rubbed her hands threw his hair, softly rocking him back and forth. What had she done? She backed away from him and cast a healing charm on him.

Harry just sat on the bed. His shoulder slouched over in a state of depression. She leaned up against the head board of her bed and pulled him to her. He allowed himself to be moved apathetically. She wrapped her arms across his bare chest. She didn't move or speak. The guilt of what she had done nagged at her and she vowed to make it up to him. She would help him overcome his depression.

After what felt like half a day she finally spoke.

"Harry…"

"Hmm…"

She could still hear the grief in his voice.

"We need to get you a new pair of glasses. What do you say we get out of here?"

She didn't wait for him to reply. She pulled him out of her bed. She used her wand to get him changed and cast a few cleansing charms. He was in his wizard robes. She grabbed his hand and apparated to Diagon alley.

Harry fell to his knees when they arrived at the apparition point. She helped him stand up when she gained her composure. She waved her wand over the both of them and darkened the hoods on their robes. Once she put the over their heads she placed a sticking charm on them so they would not move.

They made their way to Gringotts. She had Harry set up his account so that he could access it without having to go back to the bank all the time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

On the way out of the bank Harry was stopped by a goblin.

"Mr. Potter I was asked to give you this letter. It appears that we are not able to send you messages over at you aunt's house."

Harry nodded his understanding and smiled as he recognized the voice of the goblin in front of him.

"Thanks Griphook."

Harry walked out of the bank leaving, in his unnoticed wake, a very surprised goblin. (2)

They walked in silence for a few minutes towards a special branch of the hospital. The Healer that operated there specialized in healing eyes and correcting vision problems.

After casting a few spells that told the Healer the condition of Harry's eyes he was asked what method of treatment he wanted. He could get a pair of glasses that had a built in restorative spell that over the period of a year would correct his vision. Or he could get the wizard equivalent of contact lenses.

The properties of the lenses were better than the glasses because they were in contact with the eyes themselves. The spells that were put on the contacts were not merely aimed at correcting his vision like the glasses.

Harry decided on a pair of contact lenses that would correct his eye sight, allow him to see clearly up to one hundred fifty meters away, see through, polyjuice potion, invisibility cloaks and spells, disillusionment and stealth charms, as well as improve his abilities (or in his case give him acute abilities) in Occlumency and Legilimency. He could also see through any solid object (think Mad eye Moody's eye except one 180 degrees of visibility not 360)

The Healer took him through the back room and out of his office. Harry looked around to find himself in St. Mungos. He gave a look of slight confusion.

"Harry, do you believe in magic."

Harry scowled. He knew how he had gotten there it was almost obvious to him that the office was connected to the hospital by a different form of the floo network.

"Quiet Nymphadora." He smirked at her and turned to walk down the hallway. This was his second mistake made in as many seconds. The first of course was calling her "Nymphadora." With his back to her he didn't even see the curse coming. It impacted just below his left shoulder and blew him off of his feet. The fall to the ground knocked the wind out of him.

He could see a blurred figure stand over him that he knew to be Tonks.

"Call me by my first name again Harry and it won't be a simple disarming curse."

She walked on forward leaving him lying on the ground to catch his breath. He slowly rose to his feet. The place the disarming curse hit him stung and he suspected it was bleeding a bit. He walked on after the Healer and Tonks. They entered a room just a head of him.

The Healer pulled out his cauldron and began to mix a potion. After it came to a simmer he turned to Harry and asked for a drop of his blood so that he could seal the potion and the contacts to him. Harry pricked his finger with a knife that he was handed and placed his hand over the cauldron.

A drop off his blood touched the almost clear concoction. It turned a silver pink for a moment and boiled down to clear. In a flash the potion was gone and at the bottom of the cauldron was a pair of contact lenses.

The Healer levitated them out of the cauldron and placed them over Harry's eyes. For a moment his eyes watered adjusting to the new sensation. Then his eyes erupted in what felt like flame.

The Healer told him not to worry about it because it was normal to feel what he felt. The contacts were bonding with his eyes. Harry tried to close them but the spell on the contacts wouldn't allow it.

And, just as sudden as the pain was there, it was gone without a trace and the blurred room of the Hospital came back into focus. The Healer walked him back to his office in Diagon Alley.

He showed Harry a few spells to keep his eyes from drying out and to clean his contacts while he used them for the next year. They would eventually become part of his eyes but while they were still contacts Harry had to make sure that he cleaned them every morning. The Healer explained to him that because of the magic in the spell the lenses could come of at all unless the counter curse was cast by him.

He paid the Healer for the lenses and walked out back into the nearly deserted streets of Diagon Alley. Harry was walking back towards the apparition point when Tonks grabbed his hand and pulled him in the opposite way. He gave her a questioning look.

"We are not done yet we still need to get you a new wardrobe. This…" she said while pointing to Harry's hand me downs "…style you seem to choose is unbecoming."

Not having the strength to argue about it. Harry merely followed her to a few clothes shops. He put up no resistance to her when she picked out his clothes. After they had finished shopping for clothes they walked to the book store. She made Harry change into an outfit that he bought back at madam Margret's.

He wore a pair of black kakis, black Hungarian horntail dragon hide trainers, plain black short sleeve shirt (tucked in), and a black silk button up shirt that depicted two dragons and a phoenix in a battle. The lighter black characters on his shirt were animated and in an actual battle with each other.

Tonks pulled him into Florish and Blott's book store and picked up a few books that she thought was necessary. Harry didn't even pay attention to the titles of any of the books until the titles Apparation for Beginners and Apparation used in battle caught his eyes. What did she need that for she already knew how to apparate.

When they were done with her shopping escapade she took him to the leaky cauldron to get a bite to eat. The day was coming to a close as the street grew darker. Harry for his part didn't eat that much. Despite being hungry this morning his apatite has diminished over the course of the day.

He missed his godfather so much. Placing his hands back into his pocket he found a piece of parchment that he couldn't place. Pulling it out of his pockets he found the crest of Gringotts seal in wax. He broke the seal and unrolled the parchment.

_Dear Mr. Potter_

_This letter is to inform you that you are being requested at Gringotts on the 1st of July. It has come to our knowledge in the past two weeks that one Sirius Orion Black has recently been declared deceased. The reading of his Will shall commence at 10:30 that morning. Please show up at 10:00 to insure that you are not late. _

_We have also informed the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore of this request. He has unfortunately stated that you would be unable to make it due to your mental and physical wellbeing. If this is true please and you are unable to make it send us a reply no later than a week before so as to still be able to claim your inheritance. Failure to comply with this forfeits your rights to the next of kin. _

_Normally I wouldn't get involved with something as trivial as a will reading, but as Albus Dumbledore thinks that he can get around the wizarding laws due to him being your Legal Guardian, I feel I must inform you that his attempts to claim your inheritance for you will be hindered. I am how ever not doing this out of the kindness of my heart. Goblins do not deal with trivial things such as emotions. Simply put I saw an opportunity to pay back my life debt that I owe you and seized it._

_If you are in need of getting to Gringotts simply tap this letter with your wand before ten that morning and speak "Gold." A special portkey will activate and bring you to the lobby of Gringotts at ten in the morning. _

_Sincerely _

_Lord Koragondook_

_Head of the National liaison to the Wizarding world _

_Head manager to the bank of Gringotts, England_

_Member of the Executive board of Directors of Gringotts_

_Order of Ragnishrok first class_

_Chief member of the established curse breakers of Egypt_

Harry could feel an emotion that he hadn't felt in a while slowly bubble inside of him. Dumbledore knew about this and not only chose to keep him out of it but also chose to keep it a secret from him. Anger flashed, hot white, on his face and for a split second he felt relief that he could feel something besides the empty hole that was left by Sirius.

---------------------------------------------------------

Tonks' face softened as she saw him reading the letter. She saw his look go from about to cry to about to kill in a matter of a few lines on the parchment.

"So what was the letter about?"

She could tell from the way that he looked at her that he was judging his level of trust on her. She didn't even need to use Legilimency to see that. He remained motionless deciding what to tell her.

"It's a letter from Gringotts about Sirius' last will and testament. The goblins have informed me that I am going to need to be there on the first of July."

"So then why the angry face."

"It also informed me that Dumbledore already knew about this. He "forgot" to inform me about it though. The only reason that I got this letter was because of a life debt that I was apparently owed from Lord Koragondook. I don't even know what I did for that."

"You defeated the dark lord when you were a baby. You are probably owed a life debt by every wizard in the country…"

"Wait, what do you mean, I am owed a Life Debt by every wizard in the country."

"You saved many peoples lives that night. The goblins in the first war were targeted by the dark lord when they would not join him. They also don't like to be indebted to anyone. So it is not a big surprise that Lord Koragondook decided to pay you as soon as he could."

Tonks grabbed his shoulder and side along apparated Harry back to her flat. She went to her kitchen to grab something to drink. The slight popping noise on her table caught her attention. There was a feather with a note attached to it on top of her table surrounded by a fresh scorch mark. She recognized the spidery curls of handwriting immediately. She scowled at the name written at the top.

_Nymphadora Tonks_

_It was brought to my attention today that you took young Harry Potter down to Diagon Alley earlier this afternoon. _(Busted) _I have asked you earlier to keep Harry inside of your house so as not to inform Tom that he is no longer staying at his Aunt and Uncle's House. You have failed to comply with my request for his safety. I am scheduling an emergency meeting later on tonight. You are to attend. Bring Harry with you as it pertains to him. We are going to figuring out how to deal with the current situation. I am most disappointed with you Nymphadora _(scowl)_ I thought that after last night we had reached an agreement. _

_Albus Dumbledore_

Tonks could feel the frustration build up along with the guilt. She knew that she was supposed to keep him locked up but that was just against her nature. She would have to talk to Dumbledore later tonight about how she thought his decisions were wrong to keep him locked up. He needed to be trained if what he said was true. The dark lord was after him. He needed to be able to defend himself with more than just luck.

(((((((((((((0)))))))))))))

Authors note

Tonks is curious as to why Harry was in the Department of Mysteries. More specifically the hall of Prophecies. Dumbledore has not told anyone about what happened. Just that Harry was lured into the department looking for Sirius. The department also filed a report of the prophecies that where lost. Of all of the prophecies lost that night only one was removed from the Hall of Prophecies. The one containing Harry and the Dark lord. Tonks is curious as to what it says.

Harry shows kindness and respect towards goblins and "other creatures deemed to have near Human intelligence. The goblins are not use to this and it will play a more important role in the future.

Also I know that since this has come out I have seen one review to this story. And seven people added this to their alert list. My question is; why haven't you reviewed the story.

Harrison Potter: Thanks for the review. Just to let you know I didn't mean anything bad by my response. I am just letting you know that Harry will kill but he won't be dark and hard about it. He won't like it. I like light oriented Harry not cold dark overpowered Harry.


	3. The Broken Shards of Friendship

A/N Ok well If the reviews keep going this way I might actually be writing more author notes.

To answer some of the reviews

Korval: First off I will not be replacing that seen at all. I am sorry to say this but if you don't like it then don't read it. But, to explain it a bit, there are only three curses in the wizarding world that are against the law to use on another person. The slicing curse is not one of them (the damage that it causes is reversible). The scene is needed because I need to show how Harry's actions affect more than just himself. They affect the world really. He is playing with fire.

Next to say is that Tonks was upset for a lot of reasons. She just found that a beacon of hope tried to kill himself. She also found that a link to her mothers past has been taken away from her. And not only that, but because she wasn't strong enough to take on Bellatrix Sirius died. She had also become friends with Sirius over the year that they knew each other.

My questions are this. Have you ever lost someone close to you, more than just a friend but also a member of your family and a connection to your mothers painful past? Try and place yourself there (even though if you haven't you can't even begin to imagine it).

It took me forever to write that scene and trust me on this when I say that causing physical violence to another while in the stage of distraught anger is not OOC. It is almost calming in a sense. If that were to be true than Harry at the end of book five would have been OOC.

Ok and to the rest of the reviews thanks for your support and if I didn't answer your questions I am sorry.

Now without further ado

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 3 

**BROKEN SHARDS OF FRIENDSHIP, AND THE PORTRAIT**

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a crack of displaced air a wizard appeared in the dark foyer of the Noble House of Black. A wizard that, by all standards and stigmatisms of the word, looked in everyway the role he was. He looked over the entranceway of the house. It was still as sinister looking as it had been when he set up operations for the order here over a year ago. He had a meeting with the aforementioned order in a roughly a half an hours time.

His thoughts brought him back to Harry Potter, the reason that a meeting was called. He needed a way to check up on him without drawing his attention. He couldn't trust Nymphadora Tonks to be as forthcoming as he wanted. He was going to need to use his best friends to get the information.

He needed to speak with them about it and appeal to them about Harry's well being. Internally he was grateful that Harry had just tried to commit suicide. This gave him the perfect angle to use to get his best friends to act as spies on him. Gryffindors are truly predictable. There bravery blinded them from the truth. He would have his weapon back in the palms of his hands.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Remus Lupin. The latter had offered to take the formers cloak and see him to the kitchen for the meetings. The headmaster smiled warmly with a twinkle in his eyes. He handed over his cloak to one of the two x-factors in his plan, the other being of coarse Nymphadora. With that he pulled out a vial of Felix Filicis and drained it.

------------------------------------------------------

Tonks had grabbed Harry by the shoulder and apparated him to the order headquarters. He could feel the dark hallway come into view. Harry began to walk towards the meeting, wanting to get this over with. He turned around to find Tonks standing were they had appeared, staring at him with a look of concern.

"What?"

He unconsciously wiped at his face thinking that he might have something there. When his hand slid over his un-obscured face he turned his gaze around the room expecting to see someone. The hall was empty except for the two. She continued her stare.

"What?" Harry asked a second time a little more forcefully as his anger flickered inside.

"Harry you do realize that you apparated us here don't you."

He stared at her for a moment before he spoke again.

"You're messing with me." He started to laugh but when she did not follow suit he quickly stopped. He looked upon her intently trying to judge her for a reaction, when he found none he simply smiled and shrugged.

"How can you be so calm about this? Why didn't you tell me that you knew how to apparate?"

"I didn't know that I could. It was the first time that I did, well second if you count the time that I accidentally apparated on top of the school roof when I was six."

"You just side along apparated us here with no training, and through an anti-apparation ward that you are not keyed into, no less."

"What is that hard?"

"Well considering it is Dumbledore's ward it is thought to be impossible."

"Guess I blew that theory through the roof. Listen Tonks please don't tell anyone about this ok especially Dumbledore."

Tonks gave him an inquiring look but nodded to him all the same. They walked towards the doors to the kitchen. The sounds of three familiar voices stopped him in his tracks.

"What's wrong Harry?"

"I didn't know that my friends would be here. I didn't want them to find out that I tried to kill myself last night."

Tonks gave him a weak smile.

"Well I don't think that we are here to discuss that with the order. I think that we are just here to find out were the safest place to keep you would be."

Harry visibly relaxed and started to move towards the door.

Remus opened it to accept them into the kitchen.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Were are your glasses Harry."

"Broke them and don't know where they went."

Tonks lead Harry to a seat in the corner away from the table. She knew that he was still going to be the center of attention but he didn't have to be in the center of the room. His friends looked at him expectantly. They frowned when he didn't sit next to them.

Remus found a seat on the other side of Harry since his seat had been taken when he got up to let them in.

"I got contacts instead."

"Now that everyone is here we can begin the meeting."

For the first part of the meeting Dumbledore left Harry out of it. He continually asked about seemingly unimportant missions that had taken place over the last week.

After about forty minutes Harry heard his name brought up in the conversation. Harry snapped back up in his seat when he heard this. He looked at Professor Dumbledore but it was not a question or a statement that was asked to him. The topic of him being out in Diagon Alley had finally arrived. He felt small when everyone started to talk about him like he wasn't in the room.

His friends sent him reassuring smiles. He didn't know how to take that. He was sure that once this night was over they would not have those same faces when they looked at him. After a ten-minute report from Kingsley Shackbolt about the events that he witnessed the order reprimanded Tonks for her actions. She sat in her chair and didn't say a word. She gave Harry a look of indifference.

Harry could feel anger rise in the pits of his stomach. How could they treat her like that? How could they treat him like that? They wanted to have him locked up for the rest of the summer. She was the only one that had cared enough to bring him back to this world.

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU." He could see the shocked looks on their faces.

"This is my life that you are talking about here." For a split second he could see what seemed like anger and relief spread across Dumbledore's features, but just as soon as it was there, it was gone. When he spoke it was in the calm manner that he had always remembered.

"Harry listen we just want what is best for you. Right now you are a target by Voldemort and his death eaters."

"Shut up, are you stupid. I can't afford to have these people knowing that."

Harry glared at Dumbledore. His look was cold when he voiced what he needed to say.

"Harry these people are trying to keep you alive, which is more than what you have been trying to do within the last twenty-four hours. Sirius died to protect you and this is how you repay him."

Dumbledore's voice raised and he showed every bit of why the dark lord feared him. But Harry didn't care. He had just subtly revealed to the room what he wanted to take to his grave.

Harry rose from his chair. He could feel rage swell up inside of him. He drew his wand and pointed it at Dumbledore. He could hear the room gasp. An arm on his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts of which curse to use. He looked around the room his gaze falling on Hermione's shocked expression. He lowered his wand.

"Harry…" Dumbledore didn't even finish his sentence before Harry picked his seat up and threw it across the room. He didn't even wait to see if it connected and the distinct lack of sound assured Harry that it didn't, stupid magic. He stormed from the room ignoring the gasps of surprise and the calls of his friends. Opening the doors to the drawing room he quickly stormed to the fireplace. Only when he grabbed a pinch of floo powder did he remember that he didn't know Tonks floo address. He threw the powder back in the canister and sat on the couch.

So far no one had followed him in here. Probably Dumbledore telling them to let him cool off. It wasn't that he wanted company now he just expected it. Harry sat on the couch. He was still fuming from how his Headmaster could be so naïve. Harry allowed himself to think over the rest of the day. It was obvious that he was going to need to learn Occlumency by the end of the summer. If he kept letting his anger get the better of him he was probably going to end up in Azkaban before the end of it.

The doors opened up and Tonks and Remus walked into the room. He was expecting to see Ron, Hermione, and Ginny follow them but they were the only ones that entered. He looked up at the two as if pleading before he spoke.

"Tonks, can we please get out of here? I can't stand this place…" Tonks nodded at Harry's statement. "…If it's alright with you Tonks then I don't mind if Remus comes along." 

"I don't mind."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonks grabbed Harry's shoulder and apparated herself and Harry to her place. As she entered she felt the familiar tingling sensation of her wards asking if it was alright to allow admittance to Remus. She told the wards yes and sat back down on her couch. Remus appeared in front of the door moments later. He addressed Harry before moving into the room.

"Harry what's going on."

Harry didn't answer. She could see him look at his shoes. She reached over and grabbed his hand pulling him to the couch. He sank into the cushion and began to cry. Remus fell silent. It was hard to watch both men in this state. She knew that Remus felt the exact same way that Harry did. She could see the silent tears forming under his eyes. It took a lot not to brake down with them.

She grabbed Harry and pulled him into a hug.

"Dumbledore is an idiot sometimes Harry." She could feel him relax a little bit. He probably thought that she was going to take Dumbledore's side. Truthfully she was a bit jealous that he could do that.

After a while Harry's breath slowed and she knew that he had fallen asleep in her arms. Remus raised his eyebrow towards her for the way that she handled Harry. She really didn't care one way or the other on the matter. She pulled out her wand and levitated him to her bed. He was really quite cute when he was asleep.

After she had placed him in her bed she went back out to the living room to talk to Remus. Before she could even sit down he started.

"You know if it was anyone else besides me who saw that exchange you would never live it down. So what's going on between you two?"

She didn't even have to comment on that. She chose to laugh at that statement. It was a statement because if he were actually asking that question then he would be out of his mind. She laughed until her gaze met his eyes. "Oh shit he's serious."

"What do you mean by that. You know as well as I know that there is nothing between us.

--------------------------------------------------

Dumbledore looked at the three students in front of him. He needed to play this carefully otherwise they wouldn't go along with this. The rest of the order ad gone home but a few. Harry had tried to physically assault him with a chair, and his grasp on him seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. At the rate that he was going by the end of the school year he will have no control at all over him.

"Professor Dumbledore I am worried about Harry."

"I am afraid that we all are worried about him Ms. Granger. Now what I am going to tell you doesn't leave this room. I need you to sign this parchment stating that what I reveal to you won't leave this room."

He could see Mr. Weasley grab the pen and move forward. Mrs. Granger didn't move, nor did Mrs. Weasley.

"What happens when we sign this parchment?"

"It will prevent you from disclosing any information that we discuss tonight to anyone."

"I thought that you wanted to discuss Harry with us."

"I do but we can not go any further until you sign the paper."

Ginny looked apprehensive still. She spoke up finally.

"If I sign this then that means that I can't tell Harry about this."

"No you cannot but it is important that he doesn't find out about this. It's the only way that we can help him."

They moved forward and signed the parchment.

When their names were written the ink dissolved on the parchment. It reappeared on the back of their hands and etched its way into there skin. After a slight burning sensation the ink cuts and all traces of what happened had vanished.

"Ok now to proceed with the meeting. Last night Nymphadora Tonks discovered Harry at his aunts house. He had blown the skin off his wrists in an attempt to end his own life. He was healed and brought to Tonks place. A healer then showed up a bit later and finished patching him up."

The looks of shock were evident on their face. He could see rage, confusion, and sorrow hidden behind it. When no one spoke he moved forward.

"I have called you in here to help me keep an eye on him. When school starts I will need you to let me know if he does anything that would seem out of the ordinary."

Ginny was the first to speak up.

"You want us to spy on him for you."

"In a sense yes but I want you to spy on him for his protection."

"I am sorry Professor but I can not spy on Harry. Not for anyone he means to much to me for me to treat him like that."

Ginny got up and walked out of the room. He looked at Ron and the Hermione. She seemed a bit apprehensive.

"Ms. Granger I am not asking you to do anything different around him. All I am asking is that if you happen to see Harry acting strangely or doing things that he normally wouldn't do then to tell me about it. I do not want another fiasco like the department of Mysteries last month."

He could see her come to a conclusion at that. He had gotten two spies.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The first of July had shown up. Harry had spent a week at Tonks' place and hadn't seen Dumbledore since that meeting. He knew that Dumbledore would be at the reading today and he wasn't looking forward to it. He had started to warm up to Tonks. She was more like a kid his age then an adult. Of course she was only twenty-three years old.

Harry woke up that morning with a feeling of loss. He realized that he was going to be at Gringotts today for the last will and testament of his godfather.

Tonks came in the room to see if he was up. Over the week that he had been there she slowly started to act the way she normally did around him. While she wasn't her goofy self anymore (most of that probably died along with Sirius) she wasn't as harsh as she had been.

Nine thirty finally showed itself and Harry was finished getting dressed. He grabbed his invisibility cloak just incase he needed it. Tonks side-along Apparated them to Diagon Alley. Harry had his hood up. He was sure that if he was spotted then he would not be allowed in the bank this morning.

Tonks lead him up to Gringotts were he could see three members of the order guarding the entrance. He pulled her into an alleyway telling her that he needed to be invisible. With the whirl of a cloak Harry was gone. Tonks pulled down her hood and proceeded towards the front entrance. Everything seemed to be going just fine until they got inside of the bank. Mad "Eye" Moody was there and Harry knew he could see through invisibility cloaks with his eye. He could also see that he was walking right towards them.

In a faint whisper he addressed Harry.

"You know we are under strict orders to not let you in here."

Harry gave him a pleading look. Moody didn't say another word he turned around as if he had not seen them. To any of the other order members it looked as if he had just greeted Tonks.

Tonks and Harry walked over to a goblin were she would address him to allow there admittance to the reading. She spoke in a low voice.

"We are here to attend the last will and testament of Sirius Orion Black."

He could see the quizzical look that the goblin teller had given her when she said we. Harry spoke in a soft voice load enough for the goblin to hear.

"I am Harry James Potter, I am under an invisibility cloak to sneak past a group of people that doesn't want me here. I will take my cloak of upon entering the back rooms."

"I am afraid sir that it is required for you to take off the cloak before then. You see we have security features that will not allow you to enter under such a cloak. You are not even able to bring it with you. As such we will have one of our tellers hold onto it for you."

"Is there anyway that the teller could follow us until the entrance and I could hand my cloak to him then."

"Yes I believe that we can do that."

Harry followed the goblin towards the entrance. It was sealed with magic to not allow admittance without there knowledge. They had upgraded their security since the vault containing the philosophers stone was broken into.

At the door to the back rooms Harry pulled off his cloak. He handed it to the shorter of the two goblins and followed Tonks in.

"Harry stop wait."

He moved in faster before the voice that sounded like Bill Weasley could stop him. The order now knew that he was in the bank. But it didn't matter anymore because he had gotten past the only part of the bank that they could stop him.

Dumbledore could be a different problem though.

Harry was lead to a room that belonged to someone important in the bank. There was a desk in the middle of the room and a Goblin that sat behind that. The sign on his desk indicated that he was Lord Koragondook.

"Ah mister potter I am glad to see that you have made it. I wish to inform you of the proper procedures of a will reading. You being the main proprietor have the authority to see anyone, that doesn't have a legal reason to be there, be removed."

"So who is all there."

"Well of course Narcissa Malfoy, Remus Lupin, Molly Weasley, Hermione Granger, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, Luna Lovegood, Yourself and Nymphadora Tonks."

"Ok and who has a right to his will. Better yet does Dumbledore have a reason to be there?"

"As your legal guardian I am afraid that he does have a right to be there. Are there any other questions?"

"No.'

"Very well. If you would follow me then."

Harry was lead to a broad set of double doors at the side of the office. The goblin opened the door and ushered Harry and Tonks into the room.

"Harry what are you doing here. Nymphadora I asked you to please not allow Harry to come here."

"And I asked you to not you my first name. Besides Harry has a right to be here."

Before anyone else could respond the doors opened up and Narcissa Malfoy entered the room with a goblin in her wake.

"The reading of the last will and testament of Sirius Orion Black shall commence."

He walked over to a curtain that had been drawn shut and proceeded to open it. Harry gasped in shock at what was behind them.

"Sirius"


	4. The Last Will and Testament

**A/N: This story is going to be left without a beta until my current Beta Lesli (who is wonderful and I absolutely adore for her kindness) is finished catching up on Timeless. She has agreed to help me beta read all of my story's and will continue doing so until she sees fit to stop. I thank her for that immensely.**

----------------------------------------------------

**Warnings: See page 1**

**Disclaimer: See page 1**

**Pairings: See page 1**

**Spoilers: All**

**And now onto the story**

------------------------------------------------------------

**CHAPTER 4**

**THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT**

------------------------------------------------------------

"The reading of the last will and testament of Sirius Orion Black shall commence."

He walked over to a curtain that had been drawn shut and proceeded to open it. Harry gasped in shock at what was behind them.

"Sirius"

For a passing moment that seemed to bleed into eternity, Harry stared at the space behind the curtain. His eyes seemed to be playing tricks on him. His bewilderment and confusion at seeing a man, he believed to be dead, standing in front of him as if nothing had happened. It wasn't until Sirius spoke that Harry realized what he was seeing.

"Harry I'm not real. This is a magical hologram of me. It contains my personality and my memories up to the date that I created this. Unfortunately it means that I don't know how I died."

Harry nodded in understanding after he saw the carefully placed jewels at the base of the late figure in front of him.

"Now then, with all of the pleasantries out of the way the reading of Sirius Orion Black has officially been started…" The goblin shuffled his papers in his hands and turned to address the figure of Sirius black. "…Please Mr. Black if you will proceed to the reading of your will."

"Ok… right… Business first… I, Sirius Orion Black, being of sound mind and of my own free will, or at least as sound of a mind as I can get, do here by declare this document as my last will and testament.

To my dearest cousin Narcissa I leave nothing. I am sorry to say this but you chose your path in life and now you must pay for that chose. You will get no help from your family and I hereby disown you from the Black family. The only way to regain your status will be to take it up with the new head of the family and seek forgiveness through him. That is all Mrs. Malfoy. You may leave now."

To say that Narcissa was mad was an understatement. In fact to say that she was livid and fuming was really the only way to describe her emotions at that point and it did her no justice. There simply wasn't a word that language between intelligent beings had developed to describe this feeling. Before she was able to express herself with the gracefully morbid wit that was usually associated with the Malfoy family a goblin had started to escort her from the room.

She was merely dragged from her seat before she tossed the rather short creature across the room. With a twirl of her cloak she departed the room.

"She's as pleasant as always I see, now onwards with business. Ah yes my favorite niece. Nympha…" Several objects had passed through the figure of Sirius Black and smashed rather violently into the wall. "…dora Tonks. For you I have a surprise." He motioned for the goblin to hand her some paperwork. "Being the head of the house of Black I used some contacts to file the legal documents to accept your family back into the Black family. This entitles you to the share of money set forth by our ancestors do to you being a Black."

Tonks still had a look of annoyance mingled into her features of delight.

"Next, my dear friend Remus Lupin. I give you money. Consider it my last prank on you because now you have to accept my charity.

To Albus Percival Brian Wolfric Dumbledore I leave you Grimuald Place on two conditions. One you remove Harry from Privot Drive and place him back at Godrics Manor. And two you allow Harry to view the will of his parents on his sixteenth birthday rather than his seventeenth."

Two faces in the room had hardened their expression. Though both for similar reasons they couldn't be further from one another. Harry's anger for another part of his life that was being controlled by Dumbledore, and Dumbledore's for Sirius allowing Harry to hear this information.

"To the Weasley family I leave money.

To Miss Hermione Granger I leave money and the deed to a house that will remain secret to all but her. Miss Granger, though I have voiced my concerns to the order they still don't believe your family to be in any danger. Please move them there after this meeting

To Fred and George Weasley I leave money and the deed to a piece of property located near your store. It comes with two conditions though. One and probably the most important is that you make the Mauraders proud of your joke shop. Two is that you use the money to research other things like magical weapons and a cure for Lycanthropy and other magical ailments. I know that you two are smarter than you let on and you won't let me down.

To Luna Lovegood I leave money for the Quibbler to branch out another issue of the magazine to form a newspaper to compete with the daily prophet. I also leave you three books that I think you will find useful in your research. Good luck with that.

To Neville Longbottom who I see didn't make it I leave money.

And finally to one Harry James Potter I leave everything else that I was in possession of. I also give this hologram of myself to him in hopes of him getting to know me better."

The finalizing of the will took no more time from them. Harry got up and walked out of the room with Tonks in his wake. He could feel his friends following closely after that. In the main lobby the group was approached by an official looking goblin that handed out letters to each individual.

"Harry…" The voice of the last person Harry wanted to talk to had spoken up. "I just want to tell you…"

"You don't get to tell me anything old man. I am not in school and you have no rights over me. The only thing that I want to hear from you is, 'here is your parents will.'"

"It isn't that simple Harry."

"No it is that simple. You either comply with the condition of the will or you look for a new place to hide your order."

Several people around the area were shocked to hear the way Harry was addressing Professor Dumbledore. A goblin caught Harry's attention and handed him a package and an official looking stack of papers.

"Harry I have more rights over you than you think. I am your official guardian…"

"And when were you going to tell me that."

Harry was so mad at his professor that he couldn't think straight. He sat down on one of the couches that lined the walls in the corner of the room. To distract himself he started to go through his papers that were handed to him. He had inherited quite a large sum of money and a handful of properties. But the thing that caught his attention the most was that in the stacks of paper that he held was two parchments declaring that at the time of Harry's sixteenth birthday he would be emancipated and that as former guardian of Harry he had relinquished his responsibility to his brother in all but blood, Remus Lupin.

Harry smirked at the papers. It didn't matter what the old fool would say because he had absolutely no say in his life anymore.

"You are wrong about that. It seems that Sirius had papers delivered to the ministry upon his name being cleared. He handed over his rights as guardian if anything should happen to him to Remus. You are not my legal guardian any longer. And even if he does refuse those I will be emancipated once I turn sixteen anyways. So if you don't comply with his conditions of the will you will need to find a new headquarters for your order."

And with that Harry turned on his heals and walked to the apparation checkpoint with Tonks. He grabbed her arm and she apparated them back to her apartment.

------------------------------------------------

"Harry I must admit that was quick witted the way you came up with that to get under Dumbledore's skin."

"Tonks I didn't come up with anything. I have the paperwork right here. It states that he is my guardian unless he denies responsibility and that on my sixteenth birthday, in less than a month, I will be emancipated."

Tonks practically tore the parchment out of Harry's hand. When she finished reading it she nearly fell over, though that would not have been unusual for her.

"Harry is it really safe for you to leave here."

"Why, you going to miss me? Besides Tonks it's not as if I am leaving right now. I still have a day left."

He could sense her amusement as well as astonishment at the implications of his words.

"It's not really that, I mean you tried to kill yourself a few weeks ago."

Harry visible winced at her words. He was more comfortable around her when she would not bring that up. He knew what he had done and he now saw the error in it. Death was not the escape that he was looking for. It would not bring back Sirius.

He sighed and left the room. He could feel her follow him onto her balcony.

"Harry look…"

"Tonks it's ok. I did this to myself. I am not asking you to understand what I did. I am thankful that you saved me. I realized that it must be hard for you as well."

"Harry I am sorry. I didn't mean to bring this up. It was just a shock that you would be leaving here. You have been here a few weeks and I guess that I have grown accustom to looking out for you."

"I appreciate that Tonks."

They sat in silence for quite some time. Eventually Tonks broke that silence with a question.

"Harry if you don't mind my asking. Why did you do it?"

He thought about this for a moment. He was starting to trust her. Over the last few weeks he had started to realize that not all of the order was under Dumbledore's thumb. He could tell Tonks with confidence that she wouldn't reveal anything to the order that he didn't want her to.

"Ok Tonks, I will tell you but this remains between the two of us. You see I was sitting in my room thinking about what happened to Sirius. I had a lot on my mind…"

"No Harry not that. I wanted to know why you ran off to the department of mysteries. What were you looking for? How did you even know how to get to that room?"

"Oh that. Didn't Dumbledore tell you why I was there?"

"Dumbledore only told us that you were lured into a trap. He didn't tell us much more than that and most of the order took it at face value. I know there is more to it but no one wants to tell me anything."

"Well that isn't surprising. Dumbledore seems to always want to have the trump card. I am a bit grateful that he is not giving the information out though."

"Will you tell me?"

"Well…I guess but it stays between us. I haven't even told Ron or Hermione this yet. See I went in because of a trap, though at the time I didn't know it was a trap, which Voldemort set up. He was trying to lure me into the Hall of Prophecies since he was resurrected at the end of my forth year. He kept showing me glimpses of the door and the route to get there. I didn't know about it at the time and no one wanted to fill me in as to what it was.

Well he ended up sending me a false projection of him kidnapping Sirius, which you know about, and thinking it was like the time I saw Mr. Weasley being bitten, I rushed in to save him. I was going to go alone because of what happened to Cedric last year but my friends insisted. When we got there it was apparent that it was a trap and we were just fighting to hold them back. The only advantage I had over them was the prophecy that was in my hand.

It was the whole reason I was lured there. Voldemort wanted to here the whole thing rather than the first half of it. He couldn't understand how I had defied him three times (five if you count the diary and the department of mysteries) before I was even fully trained. You see the prophecy was made about me and him.

Well we managed to hold them off until you guys got there. That was really lucky. You know the rest of it."

"Do you know the prophecy?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to tell me?"

"Well it basically said that I would be the only one to kill the dark lord. I would have power that he would not know about."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Dumbledore sat back in a comfortable chair in his office. He was thinking over the events of the day. Sirius had managed to throw a proverbial wrench in his plans even after his death. By removing Dumbledore from Harry's guidance he was now even further away from his goal than he was when Harry thrashed his office.

True he knew that he would need to handle the situation carefully after that night after all Harry was mad at him. But he figured that by cutting Harry off from his friends he would eventually turn to him for comfort. He didn't expect the kid to try to end his life and by doing so finding comfort in Tonks. That was another wrench in the works.

The last of course being Remus' newly appointed guardianship of Harry. But that was the easiest to take care of. Tonks was too free of a spirit for him to control the way that he did the rest of the order. With Remus he could simple send him on a few missions and he would be out of the way. Tonks was different he would have to play it by ear with her.

The hardest situation to deal with was the mess that Sirius had placed them in. He was planning to send Harry back to his relative's house in a week under the illusion that it was for his safety. He knew that by sending him there it would break his spirit and make him easier to control. Even if he could keep Harry from everyone else the lack of the Dursley's was a problem for him. He needed them to be there to break him. Only after that treatment, would it be easier for Harry to believe his "good intentions."

Maybe he could get his relatives to stay with Harry under the pretenses of their safety. Maybe then he could still have Harry under his thumb. With that thought he wrote a note to Harry informing him of his decision.

---------------------------------------------

Hermione was in the middle of packing up the necessities of her parents' house. It didn't take long to convince them to leave and only after assuring them that they would be back did they agree to take only what they would need. It wasn't as if it really mattered though. Sirius left her enough money that her great grandchildren wouldn't have to worry about money.

After nearly an hour of packing she checked up on her parents. They were still gathering things that they thought they would need. Hermione sat down in the living room. She was thinking about the same thing she always thought about when she had a moments time. What kind of friend was she to Harry? She knew that she was only doing it to help him, but going behind his back like this was wrong. She didn't know exactly what to do. A part of her wanted to help Harry and believed that Dumbledore could do this. Another part of her wanted nothing to do with her headmaster's plans.

She was brought out of her musing by a loud thump caused by her father dropping the last of their luggage. Hermione helped her parents carry the bags to the car and load them in. It took her less time than she had expected do to the fact that she couldn't use magic.

The rid across London had been uneventful and Hermione was currently directing the car to a semi-magical village Richmond. The drive took nearly two hours before the lights of the town graced them. She was currently directing them towards 14 Barding drive. The house was no doubt under the Fidilus Charm and at the moment only she would be able to see it.

She told them to stop the car outside a rather big house checking the address again. Clearly there was a mistake because the house that she had inherited was huge. Upon further inspection she realized that there could be no mistake. It was clearly of wizard origin and her parents couldn't see it. But at the same time it had a look of a house that had recently be remolded and repaired for its dilapidated state. The new additions showed that a muggle garage had been attached to the house in a space that she new wouldn't fit the building.

Sensing her parents' concern about not being able to see it she quickly handed them two pieces of paper that had her handwriting on it. The spidery webs of letters formed the message.

"_The safe house for the Granger family resides at number 14 barding drive."_

Both of her parents gave her questioning stares. They only increased further when she reached over the front seats and pushed the cigarette lighter in.

"Just think about that address for a second. And give me the parchments."

A soft springy metallic pop alerted Hermione to the cigarette lighter. She opened her ashtray and lit both papers aflame. Her parents' gasps of astonishment could be heard revealing that they saw the house. She quickly glanced around and made sure that no one was watching them.

"Drive into the garage. It has magical sensors to open the door for you."

Her dad did as she asked. Instead of the door lifting up as a muggle garage door would have, it simply disappeared. She smiled at the wonder that overtook her parents' eyes.

"Well this place, according to Sirius, is guarded with more wards spells than the ministry itself. He also set up the place for you both to live comfortably. Apparently he contracted a few muggles to install electricity to the house. He also had a bunch of magical devices installed that makes life easier but doesn't classify a breach in underage sorcery.

Normally you can't have electricity in a house with any magical wards because it disrupts the flow. Sirius placed a dampening field over the wires and with a few dimensional wards he disconnected the wires from the wards. They are still a part of the house just not a part of this dimension."

Hermione took a breath and watched the looks of confusion wipe over her parents face. She knew that they were going to need to sit down and figure out how to use everything in the house more than once. She would probably be getting a few messages during the school year to remember how certain things work.

-------------------------------------------------------

"Harry hurry up," Tonks shouted to him.

Harry was packing his things in his room and getting ready to leave. Remus had written him back letting him know that his house was safer than even the orders headquarters. He was going to take a port-key from Tonks' place to his new home. He knew that he should be excited by the events of the day but he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding overshadowing his emotions. He knew that something was going to go wrong today.

And as if on cue a brown barn owl flew in through Tonks window and landed on the desk he was standing next to. It had a letter attached to its leg and was holding it out expectantly. He relieved it of its burden.

Harry 

_We have just collected information that puts your family in danger. Since you are no longer returning to Privot Drive the blood protection has deteriorated and has left your family open for an attack. Now I know that you don't really consider them part of your family but they did take you in and therefore are worthy of a bit of kindness. I have come up with the idea of moving them to your new house as it is big enough that I daresay you have the room. _

_Please send me a rely with the owl that dropped this off. I do not think that we have a better solution. _

_Professor Dumbledore._

Harry read the note twice before he crumpled it up in his hands. Why did fate seem to want to throw these people at him? Harry wrote a note back telling him that he would allow it under a few conditions. First that he was able to practice magic and second that they are polite. He laughed at the second request. He knew that Dumbledore would let his relatives know about the request and would no doubt present it to them. He hoped that it would be enough to convince them not to go. He doubted it though.

**A/N sorry this is so short but I couldn't think of anything else to put in this chapter. Thanks again for all of the reviews on this story.**


	5. Shards of Another Soul

A/N once again this story is still unbeta'ed unless someone wishes to pick it up and beta read it for me. Thanks

---------------------------------------

Chapter 5

Shards of Another Soul

----------------------------------------

Harry had settled into his new house. When he arrived he found a way for his relatives to live there without him noticing. Dumbledore had written back stating that his family was prepared to be polite but unfortunately he was still unable to practice magic. The ministry still wishes that he followed their rules.

After about a week Harry discovered a few books that contained the information about the house that he was living in. Godric Manor had a few charms on it that waved its connection from Brittan, thus allowing Harry to perform magic without anyone's knowledge. Harry was able to test this out the same day, and when no owls arrived, letting the ministry know that he performed magic, he knew he was in the clear.

Harry had afterwards discovered how to keep his relatives away from him for the rest of the time there. He had a guest house on his property that he allowed them to stay in. He even connected the house to their old house on Privot Drive thus allowing them to remain safe while still staying in number 4.

He of course did all this without informing the headmaster of what he was doing. As far as the headmaster was concerned Harry had his relatives staying in the same house with him. Tonks had come over a few times in the week to just hang out and chat.

He knew that she was really just worried about him because he tried to kill himself but it was nice that she still visited. On her last visit she told him that his friends would be over a few days before his birthday. That was two days ago.

Now Harry was sitting in his library without anything to really do but read. His Birthday party was a matter of hours away and his friends should be over anytime. Dumbledore not having much say in his life anymore couldn't keep them away this summer.

They were due to arrive in a few hours and Harry couldn't be more mixed up about it. He didn't know what they knew about him. Had Dumbledore told them or any of the other order members? But at the same time he missed them a lot. He sat back and started to read up on apparation.

--------------------------------------------------------

An old figure sat at his desk and contemplated the events of the last week. Harry had taken to his idea of housing his abusive relatives with little fight. And while he still hadn't gain the favor of his pupil it was a step in the direction. After spending his childhood with those people his mind was bound to revert back into the impulsiveness that it was a few months ago.

He had made sure that all of the lose ends were tied up with other jobs. Tonks was back at the ministry allowing her job as an Auror to tie her hands and Remus was back on speaking terms with him. In effect he had dealt with the wrenches and eased the transitions of his plan effectively. Without anymore problems or delays he would have his time bomb ready to deal with the problems that were created all those years ago.

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and smiled to himself, for the first time in over a year and a half things were finally going his way.

-------------------------------------------------------

Tonks was staring at the parchment that she held in her hands. She was slowly deciding weather or not she was going to believe the message. As she finally came to her conclusion of what it was pointing out, she made her decision to tell the party that it pertained to. He deserved to know what was going to happen. He deserved to know what the old fool was up to.

Tonks stared at the parchment one last time. The spidery letters of the unknown author speckled down the front.

_To Harry Potter_

_There is no leader of the light army. Manipulations run deep and while one peers with closed eyes very little of anything is seen. Truth becomes obscured in the dark. The path of the light is set for one individual. But the fate of world has yet to be decided. The leader of the light army seeks to make retributions for past mistakes._

She knew what half of it was discerning but the other half of the letter was vague and confusing. There is no leader of the light army yet he seeks retributions for past mistakes. This is obviously referring to the supposed leader of the light Dumbledore. But what did it mean. What mistakes has he made? And what does the rest of it mean? Who is the individual? Was it Harry?

----------------------------------------------------------------

Harry paced back and forth in front of his fireplace. His friends and true family were due to arrive at his manor in a matter of minutes and he was a nervous wreck. He wasn't sure if Dumbledore had told them anything about what had happened. The fireplace flared and Tonks fell out of it landing on her face. She was just as good at traveling through magic as she was walking. Harry offered her a hand up which she accepted.

"Thanks Harry."

"Don't mention it."

"Harry I have something for you. I think that you might want to take a look at it."

Tonks handed Harry the envelope containing the letter from the unknown author. He was about to open it when the fireplace flared up again and Ron walked out.

"I'll read it later ok Tonks."

"Alright but don't forget about it, it is kind of important. I was kind of hoping for your input about it."

"Alright then after the party we'll sit down and discuss this. Anyways how are you doing Ron."

"Fine…" he said after his gaze finally returned back to Harry. His mouth was still open in utter amazement. "This is your house."

"Yes. It belonged to my family and I finally was able to move here after Sirius' will reading." He explained. Ron visibly flinched at the mentioning of Sirius' name but he remained silent none the less. His fireplace flared once again and Hermione stepped through this time. She saved Ron a series of questions that was sure to follow as she rushed to Harry and enveloped in a hug. In no time at all the rest of Harry's family was making their way to Harry's sitting room to relax and catch up on what was happening.

He had refreshments in the room and soon everyone was comfortably chatting. After about an hour Harry excused himself and walked out of the room with Hermione. He wanted to show her his library so she could access his books. Halfway down the Hall Ginny called for them to wait for her. Hermione kept talking about how odd it was that Harry was living in a house that had a library and that he owned it.

Harry wasn't quite sure what it was about Hermione but something was off about her. It almost felt as if she was hiding something from him. He shrugged it off as normal paranoia and they walked down to the library. Hermione left Ginny and Harry's side and started searching through the books.

"Harry I need to talk to you." Ginny stated as soon as Hermione was out of earshot. She looked like she was in pain for doing so and that talking was becoming more and more painful with every word that she spoke.

"Ok." He led her out of the library and into the room across the hall. It was merely a study.

"What is it Ginny?"

"I can't say."

"Why can't you?"

"I can't say."

"Ginny I am sure that it is important just tell me." A slight tingling sensation washed over Harry's body and Ginny passed out. He rushed over to her side and tried to wake her. Something was definitely wrong but he didn't know what it was. He rushed out of the room to find her parents. When they returned Ginny had not regained consciousness.

Molly rushed to her side and checked for any signs of life. When she found it she levitated her out of the room and followed Harry to a spare bedroom.

"Harry what happened."

"I am not sure exactly she said that she had to talk to me, and then told me she couldn't say what it was, and when I asked her to tell me she passed out. Is she going to be ok?"

"She will be fine she is just magically exhausted. She will be a little disappointed that she missed your party but she needs to rest."

They left her in the room to sleep. The rest of Harry's party passed with no other incidents and before he knew it his friends were heading back home with the exception of Tonks, Remus, and Ginny. Ginny was staying because she needed to sleep and Harry told her mom he didn't mind her being over.

"Harry did you forget about the letter I handed you." Tonks asked

"Yeah but I'll go and get it right now."

He entered the library were he left the envelope and picked it up. He opened it up and started walking back towards the sitting room. Once he touched the letter he could hear voices talking to him.

"…The future…"

"…not evil…"

"…more than one dark lord…"

"…death brings you back…"

"…Will understand…"

"You will die at the hands of Voldemort."

Harry's world went black.

----------------------------------------------------

**A/N I know that this chapter is short but I wrote myself into a hole and had to dig myself back out. This is where I got and it was all that was needed in this chapter.**

**I know that I left you at a cliffhanger and I am sorry for that. But I will explain a few things in the next couple of chapters and should be able to update a little more regularly.**

**Thanks for the reviews. I know you don't like my Dumbledore to much but it will all make sense in a bit.**


	6. Fore Learned Perception

-------------------------------------

Chapter 6

Fore Learned Perception

------------------------------------

Harry awoke on the floor. He was in a room that he didn't remember. He wasn't even sure what had happened before he arrived there. His head throbbed in a rather painful way.

He could hear the faint voice of a woman off in the distance. It sounded familiar but he couldn't place it. Nor could he make out a single word that she said. It all seemed to be entering his head in a disorienting way.

"Ah finally, you are awake," came a voice from behind him. It lacked tone and emotion.

Harry mentally kicked himself. He was in a room that he didn't know while Tom was still out there and he didn't bother checking his surroundings to see if he was alone. He glanced in the direction of the voice. He couldn't make out any shapes in the shadows nor could he see any visible signs of anyone in the room with him. Come to think of it he really couldn't make out much of the room. Its shape seemed to just dissolve into the shadows.

"Calm yourself I can not harm you," the voice was once again behind him even though he had turned completely around.

"Why are you moving around?" Harry asked, "Why don't you just show yourself."

"I cannot do either. Do you remember when you touched that letter? I sent that letter to you. Right now we are inside your mind."

"What do you mean? How and why are we in my mind? And who are you? Why did you send me that letter?"

"Well you see I am a part of you. Or at least I am a part of your future self. I will become a part of you. The letter was a shard of your soul that you sent back in time to this era."

"Wait what?" Harry's head hurt and the information that was just given to him wasn't helping anything.

"When you tried to kill yourself you ended up splitting your soul into two pieces. Your future self then figured out how to separate that piece from your body and encompass it into a piece of paper. It would be sent back in time to a date that you determined when you died and be delivered to you in that time. It, in a sense, gives you more time to learn the things you need to know to survive.

"How can I trust that this is truthful?"

"You can't, but that won't matter since it activated when you touched the epistle, the damage is already done and I will have amalgamated with you in about twenty four hours. There is no way to prevent this even if you wanted to."

"So wait, you mean to tell me that you are a part of my future self. And you separated your soul to send it back to me."

"You separated your soul Harry. But yes in a very definitive way I separated my soul from my body."

Harry could feel his face drain of color. His response was at the tip of his tongue when he started to sense the world around him disband from view. The ceiling of his bedroom began to come into focus as he realized that he was waking up, his glasses still resting on his nose.

The soft murmur of Tonks next to him was startling. He had been unaware of the closeness of her contact when he awoke but at the moment it was all he could think of. Well that and the fact that his head hurt.

"Harry." Tonks visibly relaxed.

"Yeah I'm ok."

"Good because you had me so worried. What happened?" Tonks asked.

Harry went into a detailed explanation about what happened. By the end of the story Tonks was looking at him with mixed emotions. Disbelief, worry, and confusion were amongst them. Harry could sense the emotions but didn't blame her. He was still trying to believe the story himself. He would know by tomorrow what happened either way.

"So Tonks what did that letter say." Harry asked after a long silence.

She picked the letter up and hesitated before finally handing it over to him. Harry grabbed it knowing that the magic was already dispelled from the parchment, whatever the effects of the magic in them would wait until tomorrow.

Harry read the letter twice before looking up at Tonks.

"What does this mean?"

"I can really only guess. The first part and the last part seem to point out Dumbledore but I am not sure about the rest. And it is confusing how it states that there is no leader of the light yet he seeks retribution for past mistakes."

Harry stared at her for a second. Something was different about her. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time in a long time. The moment passed almost as soon as it happened but he was sure that when he looked at her it was as if he was seeing a ghost. The question "didn't she die" came to mind and he was filled with a sudden urge to hug her.

She must have noticed him staring at her because she asked what was wrong. He shrugged it off as nothing more than gratitude towards her. She seemed to accept either the answer or that he didn't want to talk about it. It was getting late and Harry needed to get up early tomorrow. He told Tonks and Remus that it was about time for him to turn in and that they were more than welcome to sleep over if they wished. Tonks accepted the offer but Remus said that he needed to get going.

Harry woke up the next morning completely exhausted. His dreams had taken him through what felt like twenty years. Yet for the life of him he could only remember small bits and pieces of any one dream. Things like Tonks smiling face and the high pitch laughter of Voldemort were all that really stuck with him. Yet it was only odd to him that the former stuck with him. He had never really thought about Tonks much before. She was kind to him but no more than a mere friendship kind of way. And he was always nice to her back but she was six years older than he was so she was placed in the category of unobtainable. He hadn't really given much thought to any one girl after the Cho fiasco. And before that Cho was really the only one he ever thought about.

Harry got out of bed trying to shake the odd feel that was swimming through his mind. It was as if he had matured by ten years or so just with in the last night. Perhaps he really was combining his experiences with that of his future self. He would undoubtedly know by the end of the night. He decided it was time to check on Ginny.

Harry rounded the corner to the room that she was in. He gave the door a quick knock and waited for her to reply. When she answered the door she was her usual smiling self. Harry released a breath that he was unaware of holding. Seeing her smiling at him the way that she was right now meant that there was no permanent damage from whatever happened to her.

"Glad to see that you are ok, Ginny," Harry said breaking the silence in the air.

"Yeah, it was weird at first I was trying to tell you what I needed to tell you but I couldn't because Dumbledore made us sign this parchment vowing our silence. Then there was this sort of pop inside of me after you asked me to just say it and I passed out. I didn't know that it magically exhausts you when you pay a life debt."

"So what did you want to tell me?"

"Well you see I wanted to let you know that Dumbledore is trying to get myself, Ron, and Hermione to spy on you during the school year. I told him I couldn't do it in anyway. Ron seemed like he was going to and Hermione seemed like she was getting persuaded by the fact that you tried to kill yourself." Harry visibly flinched at the mention of that. His friends knew that he had tried to kill himself. He was hoping to keep that a secret for a long time but Dumbledore made that impossible.

"Harry, are you ok?" Ginny's voice trembled as she spoke.

"Ginny I am not mad at you I am mad at Dumbledore. This was a fact that I wanted to take to my grave and he shared it with my closest friends. I am flattered that you didn't want to help out Dumbledore at my expense."

"I couldn't do that to you Harry. You mean a lot to me. That doesn't mean that I am not going to keep an eye on you throughout the school year though. I just won't be reporting it back to Dumbledore. I can't let anything happen to you. I care too much for you."

"Thanks Ginny that means a lot to me. Now what do you say we get some breakfast. I am starving."

The rest of the day Harry spent with Ginny and Tonks until it was time for them to get going. Ginny was the first to leave and she gave Harry a quick peck on the corner of his mouth as a thanks. Ginny flooed back to the burrow leaving Harry with a blush creeping up his face.

"What was that about?" Tonks picked at.

"She has had a crush on me since at least my second year." Harry explained.

"So why haven't you done anything about it? You obviously care about her."

"Yeah well…"

**A/N Sorry about the size of this chapter. I really wanted it to be about 2-3 pages longer than it is but I just ran out of stuff to write about and didn't want to go further than this. I needed to end it basically here so I can start with Harry merging in the next. **


	7. The Merging of Two Souls

**A/N Ok so I really ended up liking the Harry Potter Storyline, including book six, more than I thought that I did. Really I just ended up liking book six more than I thought that I did. At first I was disappointed with the book. All of the characters to me were out of character and the only thing that I liked was the horcuxes. Snape finally shows his true colors in this book because up till this book I couldn't believe he could have actually become a spy for the order and had a change of heart. His actions in this last book prove to me that he is a good guy. **

**What I am getting at is that I will be using the Horcruxes in this book if you didn't figure that out already. I had Harry commit suicide to create the rift in his soul that he needed. But unlike Voldemort he didn't use the rift for immortality just an insurance plan that he will come out the victor in this war.**

**So I will update my disclaimer **

**I do not own Harry potter in any way. This story belongs to the infamous J.K. Rowling**

**Spoilers: books 1-6**

**Pairings Harry/Tonks (Please stop asking if this is a Harry Tonks pairing I have stated that it is but to let you know I have a soft spot for Ginny she is one of my favorite characters even before book five)**

**Now, on to the story.**

**----------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 7**

**The Merging of Two Souls**

**---------------------------------------------------**

Harry looked out his bedroom window at the grounds below. He wondered briefly how the world would be if it had never met Voldemort. The depressing thought stirred many emotions in him. The first was that Harry would have known his parents. He might have had a great childhood. But these were thoughts that he could not harbor for long. It was not only the emotional ties that prevented Harry from dwelling on what could have been, but it was the very real fact that Voldemort did exist and it had forced Harry to grow up in a very quick way.

"It's good to see this place still standing." His comment was short but it rattled the only other person in his company.

"What do you mean, Harry." Tonks showed every bit of confusion on her face as she spoke.

"Well, in my original time this place was leveled. I was stupid enough to forget that my blood flows through Voldemorts veins. The wards allowed him entry once he figured out how to get here. I never did find out how he learned of its whereabouts. I will not underestimate him this time around."

Tonks looked at Harry as if he had sprouted another head. He could understand her confusion. Compared to his hers seemed to be very minimal. The merging had started over twenty minutes ago and he could now remember things from a future that would not come to pass. It appeared that his memories were happening in reverse order from the last moment the soul fragment was in its own time backwards. So Harry was able to see things that happened in the more distant future as it slowly worked its way back to the day he killed himself. Or the day that the letter entered this time and thus change history.

Harry shook his head in an attempt to calm his thoughts. It was to no avail as these thoughts were being amalgamated with his own thoughts. It was understandable that his mind would then be racing. He had roughly eight years of experiences being opened in his head and there were more to come.

Harry looked up at Tonks, He was overcome with a lot of different feelings all at the same time and without warning he leaned in and kissed her. To say that Tonks was surprised was an understatement. In fact to say that Harry was surprised would do know justice. He just kissed Tonks. Harry quickly backed off and shook his head.

"I am sorry Tonks, I shouldn't have done that. I don't know want came over me. It was like all of the sudden I saw you and I needed to kiss you. I needed to know that you were really alive."

Tonks was still in quite a bit of a shock. She did not respond to Harry's comments.

"If you would excuse me I am going to go down to the library for a bit and do a bit of reading." Harry got up and left the room leaving Tonks in the same place as she was when he kissed her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonks could feel Harry leave the room. She still wasn't sure how that had happened. One minute they were talking about how Voldemort could enter this place and did in the future. The next minute he leans over and kisses her full on the lips. She really didn't know what to feel on the subject. He was to young for her to be in any kind of relationship with. Even though he was more mature than anyone she had met around his age, even most around hers, it did not change the fact that he is a child.

Tonks shook her head and tried to laugh at the situation. In truth she probably just scared Harry with her lack of response to even his apology. She would have to apologize to him for that. It wasn't that she found it repulsive, in fact if he was a year or two older she probably would date him, truthfully she wouldn't mind dating him in a year when he was of age. Its just as it stands right now he is too young and they could get in trouble for that.

She got up and walked out of the room. She needed to find Harry and let him know that she was not mad at him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dumbledore sat behind his desk and thought back over the last few years. It was certainly a different outlook now. Last year he had Harry right were he wanted him or so he thought. Debts were a tough thing in the magical world and some make you change your very nature. No matter he repaid his life debt to Harry last year when he blocked the killing Curse from hitting Harry. The past five years felt surreal to him now that he had repaid his debt. But as it was mention to him by his mentor magic is a tricky thing.

As it stood now he didn't owe Harry anymore. He repaid the debt and was now free to go back to his plans. The old wizard began writing a lengthy letter to his mentor asking to arrange a meeting with the man. He needed to talk a few things out with him and no one had more answers to any problem than he did.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione sat at her desk trying to write a letter to Harry. Her hands simply could not write the information that she wanted to. She couldn't talk to anyone outside of that room about her spying. She crumbled the letter up after the fifth try. No matter what she tried to write it always came out to some small chat.

She decided to give up on writing to Harry all together. She really needed someone to talk to at the moment and her answer seemed to be further and further away from the one person she wanted to talk to. And then a thought came to her. Ginny

Hermione ran down the stairs to talk to her parents. She needed to get permission to floo over to the burrow and bring Ginny back here. Her parents agreed to it without much question. They trusted the Weasleys and Sirius seemed to put up a lot of security features on the house including a disguised floo.

They were able to take the floo anywhere they wanted to and it would not really matter because the ministry couldn't detect it. In fact no one could detect the movements. Sure it still registered that the floo was being used. It just registered it from a random place to another random place, both of which would be nowhere near the person using it would actually be. Sirius was a genius when it came to stuff like this.

Hermione floo called the Weasleys to find out if Ginny was there and then came through the floo when she found out that she was there. Ginny greeted her guess with less enthusiasm than Hermione had hoped for.

"Still spying on your best friends," Ginny asked.

"Ginny don't be like that. I am here to talk to you."

"If its about getting me to help you spy on Harry forget it. I don't care if he tried to kill himself I am not going to report his actions to Dumbledore because of it. I didn't even believe him at first. But I realized that the reason that Dumbledore wanted us was to help Harry."

"It was, or so it seems that way. I was so sure at first Ginny. But the more I have thought about that night the more things don't seem to make any sense. I was right about to follow you out that door but something kept me there."

"You always need to know all the information before you make your decisions."

"Yeah I thought about that too but it was weird almost like a pull that drew me towards it. In fact once I had learned the reasons he wanted us to spy on Harry I just wanted to run to him and help him. But that feeling was replaced by something else."

"What?"

"We shouldn't talk here. My mom and dad said it was alright if you came over and spent the night. I figure that if we ask your mom she might let you go. Its worth a shot."

Hermione and Ginny needed to use all of their cunning to persuade Molly into letting her go. Molly was still about to say no until Hermione demonstrated how protected the house was.

"Try doing a call back spell. I was the last place that flooed here so it will show you how protected we are."

Molly didn't even speak to them she walked over to the fireplace and preformed the call back spell and through the dust in the fire place. The floo glowed the normal green and then went out. After ten seconds the fire reignited in its original state.

"It will happen that way every time you try to recall my fireplace with out my password. The password must be said mentally so I never have to worry about anyone overhearing it. Even after that you still need my permission to key you into the floo to gain access. It is almost fool proof."

After that Molly was assured that her daughter wouldn't be in any danger if she left the burrow and allowed her to spend the night over at Hermione's house.

Hermione and Ginny went over to her house and after Ginny greeted Hermione's parents she went up to Hermione's room to finish their conversation.

"So what was the feeling replaced by?"

"What?" Hermione asked, "Oh right sorry, it was almost like my need to help Harry was replaced with a need to help Dumbledore. I know it sounds weird but it was what I felt."

"No it doesn't sound weird because I was about to leave earlier but I felt the same way you did."

Hermione's parents yelled up the stair that dinner was about done.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry sat in his library holding a book but not really reading it. His thoughts had been on the moment he kissed Tonks. It wasn't the fact that he kissed Tonks that even had his thoughts engaged. It was the way that he felt when he kissed her. In his timeline from the future he had started to date Tonks. She ended up dieing a few months after they started. He was distraught over the incident and now that he had another chance he was going to do everything in his power to save her.

Slight movement in his peripherals roused Harry out of his thoughts. He was steadily becoming use to the constant stream of thoughts that were entering his head and could concentrate for a long enough period of time notice his surroundings.

Harry looked up towards the movement and noticed Tonks approaching him. She was smiling a little bit.

"Did I interrupt your reading?"

"No. I can't really concentrate on anything right now anyways. Tonks I am sorry that I kissed you. I owe you an explanation."

"And I would love to hear it. I would also like to offer you an explanation as to why I froze up like that."

"Ok, well then to explain what happened. We sort of become an item in the future and shortly after you die at the hands of Voldemort. He kills you to get to me. Well I just learned all of this and when I looked up at you all of the emotions I was feeling I was about to cry. But at the same time I just needed to kiss you. I needed to feel your lips on mine once more. It is kind of weird I know but it is why I did it."

"Well I kind of figured it was something like that. I am a little discouraged that I died. But I cannot say that I wouldn't expect it if I did get together with you, now for my explanation. To say the least you completely caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting you to kiss me. I didn't respond to you because I just didn't know how to. I am not mad at you for kissing me I just don't think that we should do that anytime soon. You are underage and I could get into trouble for that."

Harry smiled at her reasons to think that she truly forgot about all that had happened as of lately.

"Tonks not that I am pushing you or anything but, I was emancipated as of yesterday. I will be considered of age from now on. I can even use magic outside of my house and Hogwarts."

Tonks fell silent. She seriously had not thought about that since he had moved out here.


	8. AN

**A/N: I am in desperate need of some help. I know where I want to go with this story but I am not sure how I will get there. If someone would like to volunteer their help with this story I would more than appreciate this**


	9. The Horcrux

A.N. Sorry about the long time frame between updates. Been a bit busy as well as hitting a figurative brick wall on how I wanted to get to where I needed to get. I will try to update a bit more frequently but I am also working on an original novel that has been eating up my creativity. Again I apologize.

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

This chapter is unbeta'd

* * *

Chapter 8

The Horcrux

* * *

A sickly flash of green light passed over Harry's head as he dodged to the left. The familiar rushing sound accompanied it so there was no doubt as to the spell used. It appeared that Voldemort had rescinded the standing order that he is to be taken alive. Harry wasn't sure when that had happened. He assumed that it was either their last fight to a stand-off or Harry's most recent expedition. The tomb that he had liberated from the Riddle Manor would turn the tide of the war to his favor. The only question, did this revelation come too late?

Swallowing the bile that usually accompanied his morose thoughts on the war and everyone he had lost, Harry apparated. Feeling the cold night air displace around him as he was squeezed through an invisible tube, Harry reappeared suddenly in the middle of a small town. As soon as his feet hit solid ground he took off running. He could feel the air displace as he rounded the corner. It was followed by three loud pops. They were following him.

"Finite Incantetum," Harry whispered and tapped himself with his wand. He apparated once again, this time to a different city south of Whales. He continued to run in whatever direction he was facing. Several more cracks were heard from down the street. The tracking charms weren't on him they were on the book.

A purple spell slammed into the side of the building Harry was standing next to. The bone breaking curse reminded him he was still in the middle of a fight. He hadn't gotten away yet.

"Protego Horibillis," Harry mutter pointing his wand at his cloak. It flashed a white light before fading back to its normal color.

"Expulso," Harry said pointing his wand at the mail box next to the nearest two death eaters. They were both slammed through the window next to them. Harry apparated away as a fiery purple curse hit his cloak.

He looked at the book in his hands and cast another finite incantetum. He apparated from the street corner he was on back to London, after waiting another five minutes and after no one continued chasing him, he apparated to Diagon alley. The street was just as deserted as it was the last time he was here. There were no more pops to be heard in the distance, the Finite Incantetum must have stopped the tracking charms…

He could feel the pull on his magic, the last apparition must have taken a bit more out of him then he realized. Knowing that he was going to regret it tomorrow he focused on his headquarters and turned on the spot. As soon as his feet hit solid ground his scar started to burn. It had been almost a year since he had felt any emotion through the scar. Ever since he started mastering occlumency his scar stopped acting up. Riddle's emotion must be really strong for him to be able to push it through his shields.

The pain flared up without warning. Tears formed in Harry's eyes. His vision started to darken around the edges and upon instinct he reached up to touch his scar. Darkness claimed him for this action.

* * *

"Harry…"

He could hear a woman's voice in the distance. The familiarity was reassuring but he was unable to decipher its owner. The voice sounded fairly young to him. Slowly Harry opened his eyes. He looked around the compartment of the train he was on. A brief flash of confusion spread across his face. The girl must have seen it because she had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"What is it Hermione?" Harry asked taking a second for him to regain his bearings.

"You need to change into robes, we are almost there." She replied. If she had seen his confusion she chose not to comment on it.

Harry looked around the compartment. It seemed he was alone with Hermione.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked her.

"He is probably off with either Lavander or on patrol for his prefect's… ah Harry what are you doing?" she asked as she turned to face the door.

"What?" he asked. He didn't really see anything he did wrong.

"Why are you undressing in front of me?" she asked. he could hear that she was blushing even if he couldn't see her face.

"Sorry, I didn't even think about it, it's not like you haven't seen me in my under garments before." He laughed.

"WHAT… That doesn't really count it was in third year and you were mostly under the covers." She screamed, trying in vain to regain her composure. Harry had actually forgotten that fact. He was actually remember a few other times that had yet to come to pass. Luckily he wouldn't have to explain what he meant to her as of yet. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before she started to piece together the clues. He was mentally about a decade older than her and yet her intelligence still astounded him.

"Alright then, I will go get changed in the wash room, if you would excuse me," he replied in stoic sarcasm. The shoe that impacted on the door told him that fact was missed upon her. He chuckled as he made his way down towards the wash room.

He caught the faint scent of vanilla and lavender as he passed through one of the last compartments on the train before the wash room. Smirking to himself, he entered the wash room and changed into his robes. He was fairly sure that the scent belonged to Tonks and almost completely sure that he knew where she was standing. He exited the wash room and started heading back up the train. He could just make out the faint shimmering of displaced light and air with his peripheral vision. Without warning, Harry lunged to the side tackling an invisible body to the seats he was just passing. He knew he was right about the person's identity when he heard her swearing under her breath.

"What gave me away, Harry," Tonks asked

"Your perfume." He answered.

"I'll have to remember that for next time. So is there something else you wanted or was my lack of discretion the only reason for this encounter." She stated obviously still in Auror mode.

"Well with you there is always something else that I want, but I am patient enough that I'll eventually get it." He said playfully.

"Oh really what makes you so sure of yourself mister Potter." She asked.

"Oh you know, knowledge of the future, the assuring fact that I know I can because I already have. Plus I have knowledge of things you actually like and plan on using that as well."

"That's cheating," she mumbled. "I am not sure how I am supposed to resist that."

"Then don't," he answered.

Tonks removed the hood of her cloak; she was staring into his eyes. Harry could see she was searching his expressions for something. The playful banter had died out and was replaced with a more staid mood. She reached forward and placed her had on his cheek.

"Harry, look it's not that I don't want to try because I do. I just think we should wait and let this happen naturally." She sighed.

He nodded his acceptance of the statement and moved to stand up.

"I should probably get back to the others, we are almost there and I don't want them to worry." He stated walking towards the door.

"Harry, this isn't me saying no. Let's see where this takes us and go from there." She explained, Harry walked out of the door with only a glance backwards and a small smile touching his lips.

His mind was a whirl of thoughts and emotions, he knew that his presence had changed this future and he was trying to move things forward with Tonks a little faster than she was comfortable with, but he had memories of the times he spent with her and the anguish he went through when he lost her. It was very hard to look at her and not try to snog her senseless.

"There you are, I was getting worried about… are you ok Harry." Hermione asked.

Harry looked up and saw that he was just outside his compartment on the train. Hermione had obviously seen him deep in thought; he would have to be careful doing that around others.

"I am fine Hermione, or at least I will be. I'll tell you about it later I swear." He answered. Hermione gave him a look of concern and then in one fell swoop engulfed him in a hug.

"Come on Harry we are almost there." She whispered in his ear.

* * *

A slight tapping caught an old man's attention. He looked up at the window from behind his desk and saw the markings of the eagle owl his mentor used to send mail. Begrudgingly Dumbledore rose from his chair feeling the aches and pops of his joints as he made his way over to the window to let the owl in and release it of its burden.

_Albus_

_We need to speak to discuss this matter in person. _

_F_

Sighing in defeat, Dumbledore made his way down the steps. The welcoming feast would be starting soon and he would need to be there. His thoughts took him back to his worries and the questions that he asked his mentor. What would be so important that his mentor would need to see him personally, and travel all the way from France?

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that his feet had taken him to the doors of the great hall. Steeling his emotions he flicked his wand and opened both doors as he continued his pace into the hall. His entrance obtained the attention of the room as the eyes of the professors fell upon him. Severus' lips twitched for a second betraying the stoic indifference that had been schooled upon his face. He was hiding a smirk; clearly his entrance had amused the potions teacher. Crossing the hall he took his seat at the head of the table with only two of the seats vacant, his deputy headmistress and care of magical creatures professor were both absent receiving the entourage of first year students.

The doors to the hall opened and the first sets of students started to fill into the great hall. The chatter of the students slowly increased in intensity until the only distinguishable sound was the dull roar of numerous conversations.

As with every year for the past 4 years the noise level died down once the boy-who-lived entered the great hall. Dumbledore studied him as he approached the Gryffindor table. He appeared to hold himself differently somehow. Did the experience at Privot Drive change him that much? Perhaps it was the amount of time he had spent with Nymphadora? He would have to have a talk with that Auror and find out what had transpired between the two of them. Harry appeared far too confident than what he should be. The death of his godfather should have had Harry's last vestiges of hope destroyed and him seeking guidance.

* * *

Harry could feel the eyes of the great hall shift as he entered the room. His original self would have hated this attention and sulked for the rest of the evening while his future self would have played off the attention to gain the favor of the room. He was no longer either of these people and decided that he would not actively encourage his fame but he would not hide from it. With a quick and precise stride he walked to the Gryffindor table and sat down.

A quick glance at the head table showed that the staff was watching him as much as the student body was. Dumbledore seemed to have a considerable amount of focus aimed at the Gryffindor table. The old man was watching him, testing his reactions at being in the school once again. He was going to have to keep an eye on him. The level of interest that Dumbledore was showing seemed to be more than the passing concern of a teacher for his student. He could cause problems with his plans.

The doors opened once again and Professor McGonagall entered with the first year students. The sorting was about to begin and the nights festivities about to be underway. An ancient looking hat was placed on a wobbly stool and a tear at the brim of the hat opened. The sorting hat began its song for the feast.

_Come gather around and ill beseech you this tale…_

**AN: I decided against putting in the sorting hats song, I'm not sure why the books that have the song seem to have the hat follow current events and only explain the four houses to Harry in his first year. It should be assumed that this song held none of the warnings and only used its notes to explain to the first year students the structure behind the four houses and to entertain the others. It should also be assumed that any sorting in cannon was not used as a plot bunny.**

…_Place me on your head so I may have a look inside._

The hall erupted into applause as the hat finished its song. It was nice to see that while the rest of the world was changing there was still a bit of normalcy a world that involved magic.

"When I call your name, sit on the stool and place the hat on your head. Aarons, Jennifer." Professor McGonagall called. A small blonde bounded forward and placed the hat on her head.

"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled followed be the screaming of the mentioned table.

The sorting continued with Adit, Adwaya. Ravenclaw and ended with Zechile, William hufflepuff.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and quieted the great hall.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts now I do have a few start of term announcements but before we get into that lets eat." He annunciated the last words with the movements of his hands giving the illusion that he summoned this feast for them. Harry had once been fooled by this but further investigation showed that it was a well timed trick that played off of house elves magic and service.

The meal seemed to be less impressive then he remembered but it might have been the extra years he had in his head that had changed his palate. With the conclusion of the meal and an inquisitive look from Hermione the Headmaster finished the announcements stating once again how the forbidden forest was forbidden and that the list of banned items grew to accommodate the inventory of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. With the announcements finished he ushered the students off to bed.

Harry made his way up to the common room only slightly aware that Hermione seemed to be trying to get him to slow down a bit and let the crowd thin out. She definitely wanted to get him away from prying ears but when they were far enough back from the group of Gryffindor students she seemed to have lost her nerve.

"Ok, Hermione what is it? You obviously wanted to talk to me about something, so out with it."

"You really have changed a lot over the summer Harry. Last year you wouldn't have notice the subtle hints this quickly and I would have had to all but grab you to get to notice that I wanted a word with you."

"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"To an extent yes, but to be honest I really thought that you were someone in disguise for a second. Even just talking with you this little bit those thoughts are pushed aside. I know you and I'll always be here for you, Harry. You're my best friend."

Harry smiled at that comment. He leaned forward and kissed her on her cheek pulled her close for a hug. She tensed up a little bit in his arms and he realized that this was the first actual hug he had ever initiated with her.

"You're my best friend as well Hermione and I wouldn't give it up for anything."

There was a moment where an unreadable expression flashed through her eyes before it was replaced with a warm and bright smile. He could see tears starting to form in her eyes as she launched back at him and hugged him with a renewed vigor.

No further words had been exchanged between the two during their walk up to the Gryffindor tower. Once he entered he gave her one more hug before he wished her a good night and went up to the boys dormitory.

---------------

Harry appeared out of thin air standing on the ruins of an invisible house. He remembered the last time it had been standing. The Fidelus charm hadn't failed this time around like it did in Godrics Hollow. The unplottable charm held as well. No the reason this house had fallen at the hands of Voldemort this time was a slight oversight on Dumbledore's part. Severus Snape. He didn't need to give the address of number 12 Grimauld place to the dark lord; he didn't need to point it out on a map. In the end he just needed to apparate himself to the corner of the street and signal Voldemort himself. Voldemort took care of the house. He also took care of the rest of the block. In the end there wasn't a house left standing on the street.

Harry place a lily at the door step of number 12 in remembrance of the friends that he lost at that house. He turned on the spot and appeared in one of his few hide-outs. Tonks' apartment was an optimal hiding place due to her old status as an Auror and it being relatively unknown. After the disaster at number 12 he wouldn't be staying at any one place.

He picked up the bag that he left before he started his expedition. He now had all the pieces of the puzzle on him. All that was left was to put the pieces together and see the picture he arrived at. He picked up the tomb he taken from riddle manor and cast the detection charms on it. It was just as he had thought; it was protected by a few blood charms. Unfortunately for Tom his blood was derived from Harry's. Therefore he could use the same loop holes that Tom had used against him.

Harry took in a breath; it was one thing to think he was right about this. To actually prove that he was right was another. With a final exhale he opened the dusty book. It reeked of dark magic based only in the killing of others. In fact when he examined the bindings closer the book was probably not made of leather. He shook off the thought and turned the pages searching for the information that he needed.

He turned the book to chapter seven. It contained information about immortality. There were three different methods to live forever. The first was to create the philosopher's stone. Only one had been created in the last millennium. The second was to move your soul from one body to another body. The last was to split your soul into pieces and hide it away in an object called a horcrux. Each of the methods required the death of at least one human being. The philosopher's stone was perhaps the hardest to make and required the most human sacrifices. The other two methods required only one sacrifice but the castor needed to have the intent to commit murder for it to work.

Harry turned the pages to the information on creating a horcrux. He was hoping that by understanding how they were made he would understand how to destroy them. Unfortunately the more about the horcrux he read the more he believed that the horcrux wasn't able to be destroyed in the sense of getting rid of the soul. At the time the object is destroyed the soul fragment will have two options it can either attach itself to another object or amalgamate itself with the nearest living person. However if the horcrux comes in contact with the castor the soul fragment will try to amalgamate itself with the other part of the soul.

Harry thought about this information. That meant that he didn't have to actually destroy the horcruxes that Voldermort made. The hard part now would be to just acquire the pieces of his soul.


End file.
